Pliny the Younger 2014

The First Friday of February is unofficially known as Pliny the Younger Day. That’s the day that the much sought after Triple IPA, Pliny the Younger, is released each year by the Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa. This is the tenth year that the brewery has created Pliny the Younger, and the lines to get in the brewpub were even longer than usual, snaking down the block, turning down another, and then wrapping down most of a third block. The rain didn’t seem to keep anybody away, and Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, the owners of the brewery, went out and bought several pop-up tents to keep people in line a little drier. The first person in the line, Bowman Chaney, who drove down from Chico, arrived the night before at around 11:30 PM to wait until the doors opened the following morning. The doors opened a few minutes early, since everything was ready, and dozens of people were allowed in for the first tastes of this year’s Pliny the Younger.

The bar at Russian River filled up quickly once the doors were opened and customers streamed inside.

The buzzword descriptor for this year’s Younger was smooth. It’s also really nicely balanced and easy-drinking, almost dangerously so in a 10.25% abv beer. Brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo tweaks the recipe each year, changing the hop build slightly, and making other small incremental changes, always trying to perfect the beer and make it even better from year to year. For such a big beer, he strives to make it as drinkale as possible, and in that I think he succeeds magnificently.

To keep people safe, a maximum of three glasses per person is imposed, which also helps move more people through the brewpub during this very busy two weeks. If you visit the brewery to try some — and I certainly encourage everyone to do so — there will probably be a line no mater when you visit, although its length with ebb and flow throughout the fortnight that the beer’s available this year.

Pliny the Younger will be flowing for the next two weeks, or until it’s all gone.

While your at the brewpub, be sure to try their other beers, too. Russian River makes outstanding beers, and they brew essentially two lines of beer: one is a series of American ales, many heavy on hops like their Blind Pig IPA and Pliny the Elder, their Double IPA. They also make a series of sour and barrel-aged beers known as the “-tion” beers, because each one’s name ends in the suffix “tion,” like Damnation, Supplication, Beatification and Temptation.

If you can’t make it up to Santa Rosa, Pliny the Younger will be available at select bars around the Bay Area. If your favorite bar already carries beer from Russian River, the chances are better that they may be getting at least a keg of the rare beer. Ask your server or keep an eye on their Facebook page or website, because it’s such a treat for the bars that get it they usually make a big splash about when they tap it. It’s such a great beer, if you get an opportunity to try it, definitely take it.